Jimenez pulls off 3-RBI hit against Monte

By Alex Sina Sports Editor

Monday

Jun 25, 2018 at 12:01 AM

The Legion had their second game of the season against Montevideo Monday night. Monte scored a run in the top of the 3rd. A runner hit a single, then stole 2nd and 3rd during the next few pitches. In the top of the 4th, the first batter walked. He stole 2nd and 3rd. A batter was beaned, then a wild pitch gave the 3rd base runner an opening to score. On a dropped 3rd pitch, another batter ran. He got far enough away from the catcher to force a throw. The runner on 3rd headed home. The catcher scrambled to get in position, but the runner slid home safely. The next batter struck out, ending the inning.

In the top of the 5th, Monte had a runner on 3rd. During the next hit, there was a play at the plate. The catcher dropped the ball, so the runner was safe. Bennet Knapper took over pitching for Cole Richter. Monte loaded the bases, then #5 for the away team hit a single that scored two runs. Monte reloaded the bases. A batter walked, scoring another run. The next batter struck out, but Monte finished the inning up 1-7.

Things didn’t look great for the Legion. Dalton Anderson ran on a dropped 3rd strike and was thrown out at 1st. Ayden Friese was also thrown out at 1st. The Legion kept fighting. Asa Ulferts and Knapper hit singles, then Carter Sneller joined them to load the bases. Angel Jimenez walked up to the plate. The first pitch was a strike. Jimenez crushed the next pitch, hitting a double far enough to give all 3 men on base an opening to score. Ethan Peterson was thrown out at 1st, but the Legion were back in it 5-7.

In the top of the 6th, Nick Lindstrom caught a fly ball, then tagged a runner headed to 2nd, but Monte had runners on 1st and 3rd. Knapper worked the batter up to a full count, and the 1st base runner stole 2nd. Knapper threw a wicked curveball that struck the batter out.

Unfortunately, in the bottom of the 6th, Lindstrom, Anderson, and Friese all struck out, three up, three down. In the top of the 7th, Dalton Anderson took over to close out pitching in the game. He struck out a batter. A runner stole 2nd. During the next hit, Lindstrom dived for a ball but missed, and Monte scored another run. Sneller caught a ball in center field, and runners got to 1st and 3rd. Anderson struck out the batter. The Legion didn’t manage to score in the bottom of the 7th, giving Montevideo the win 5-8.

Coach Richter reported, “We had one tough inning, and that did us in. We did some good things, and I was happy to see us respond in the bottom of the 5th with 4 runs of our own, but we came up a little short. We have a lot of games coming up, so hopefully our pitchers get a little more comfortable on the mound.”